SM Trainee’s 10-Year Struggle Ends with Grammy Win as EJAE Turns Her Life Around

The harsh realities of the K-POP industry and the possibility of overcoming those challenges are highlighted through the success story of one artist. EJAE (Kim Eun-jae), who served as a Trainee at SM Entertainment for over 10 years without ever debuting, has become a topic of discussion after winning a Grammy Award for the theme song “Golden” from Netflix’s animated film *KPop Demon Hunters*.

EJAE joined SM Entertainment as a Trainee in November 2003 at the age of 11 and underwent more than 10 years of training in vocal music, dancing, and acting. She followed the typical path taken by those aspiring to become K-POP idols, practicing intensively before and after school and into the late nights, as well as taking language and acting classes. However, watching her fellow Trainees debut in groups like SHINee and f(x), she realized her chance would not come.

When her contract expired in 2015 and she left the agency, the explanation she received was straightforward: “SM has a very specific vision and musical sound, and I didn’t fit into it.” In an interview with CNN, EJAE recalled, “I worked hard, trying to make my voice cleaner, dance better, or present in a certain way, but it seems I just couldn’t establish my own identity.” She added that the constant competition and pressure affected her studies, causing her to feel “like I was failing at everything.”

“I felt extremely desperate for a long time after leaving the agency,” EJAE said, explaining that her dream, to which she had devoted her youth, had been shattered. Yet, she did not completely sever ties with the K-POP industry. Instead, she chose one more major challenge: reinventing herself as a songwriter.

After graduating from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Cleve Davis Institute, EJAE returned to the industry through SM’s composition camp. She worked in the periphery of the industry, contributing compositions to groups such as Red Velvet, Twice, and aespa, and while working in the animation field, she met film and TV composer Daniel Rojas.

Rojas was the first musician involved in Netflix’s animated musical *KPop Demon Hunters*, and he immediately recommended EJAE to co-producer Maggie Kang. After listening to her initial demos, the directors decided to hire this former idol aspirant not only as a composer but also as the singing voice for the film’s main purple-haired pop star, Rumi.

*KPop Demon Hunters* became Netflix’s most-watched original film, telling the story of a female group that protects the world from evil monsters. EJAE participated in co-composing and recording the particularly touching theme song “Golden,” which is among the top-charting soundtracks. After being nominated for the “Best Original Song” category at the January Grammy Awards, it was later nominated for an Oscar in March.

And last Sunday, “Golden” became the first song in K-POP history to win a Grammy Award, in the category of “Best Song Written for Visual Media.”

Claire Marie Lim, a K-POP expert at Berklee College of Music, noted that it is “very rare” for a former Trainee like EJAE to achieve such great success. Drawing from her own experience as a K-POP Trainee around the same time as EJAE, she explained, “Most people I knew back then left the music industry if they couldn’t debut as K-POP idols.” This means that while some current K-POP stars are involved in composition and production, it was even more unusual, especially for former Trainees, to pursue such a path over 10 years ago.

Lim recalled, “The attitude around 10 years prior was that ‘you should sing, dance, rap, and model, but you shouldn’t get involved in the creative processes behind the scenes.’” EJAE’s chosen path was, therefore, “extremely rare.”

EJAE’s success goes beyond mere personal honor. It illustrates both the systemic limitations of the K-POP industry—where thousands of Trainees never receive a debut opportunity—and the possibility of achieving dreams through creative reinvention beyond those limits.